The challenges of riding MARTA everywhere

ATLANTA -- Hundreds of thousands of people ride MARTA every day. And for nearly half, mass transit is their only form of transportation. Most of us would agree that riding MARTA to the airport or Georgia Dome is a pretty easy trip. But what about using it to run your daily errands?

We wondered how that would feel. So we asked reporter John Gerard to take MARTA to all the places he travels on a daily basis; To work, to the gym and even to the grocery store. In short, to ride MARTA everywhere and experience the ups and downs of relying on mass transit.

During his travels, Gerard spoke to dozens of frequent MARTA users who shared some of their most common complaints. Among them, that using MARTA is time consuming due to a shortage of direct routes. Riders also told Gerard that MARTA's rail lines don't reach into enough communities. And finally, riders said that MARTA buses are often late.

So Gerard took these top complaints to MARTA's C.E.O. Keith Parker to ask what the agency is doing to address his rider's concerns.